Becoming Heartless
by theworldwillwatch
Summary: Apollo has gone missing. Will, Nico and Coach Hedge are put to the task to go and rescue him. Will falls into trouble. Will they be able to save Apollo? Will they save Will? Who will die? Who knows? I should stop asking questions. (Contains violence and suggested lemons) MERRY CHRISTMAS SHAONE! 1 out of 3
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: After three long months this beautiful piece of writing is done. I've very much enjoyed writing this and I hope you enjoy reading it. You are in store for laughs, cries and probably cringing!  
>Disclaimer - I wrote this for my friend, Sharone Chambers, so this isn't written with the fandom in mind (sorry!) This takes place after Blood of Olympus there aren't many spoilers but I wouldn't read if you haven't read BoO. I don't own Percy Jackson or its characters, Rick Riordan does.<br>MERRY CHRISTMAS SHARONE! (mrsdoddsscaresme)  
>NOW WITHOUT FURTHER ADUE BEGIN TO READ! :D<p>

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><p>Percy and Annabeth were leaving Camp Half-blood for New Rome in a week and they couldn't have been more excited. They had no more quests to venture on and no more ugly or annoying monsters to fight. Annabeth could finally study to become an architect. Percy didn't really know what he wanted to study, he would just see what caught his eye.<p>

Everything was going according to plan. They sat on the beach catch up as they had both been busy during the past few days. There was a small warm breeze that whipped their hair. It smelt of the sea. Percy held onto Annabeth's soft hand, the feel of their hands touching was all so natural to them.

"Okay," Percy said, "How am I not Nico's type?"

Annabeth shook her head and gave Percy a slight shove and said jokingly, "You seem to be really hung up over Nico recently... Is there something you need to tell me Percy?"

Percy laughed, "No, its just bugging me. Where is Nico anyway?"

"Probably helping out Will."

They said nothing for a while after that. They sat there enjoying each others company. They kissed but it was cut short by Jason, who came and sat down in front of them. His purple SPQR top stood out to all of the orange t-shirts. They had to do a double take because Jason was meant to be in New Rome.

"Promise not to freak out." He said eagerly.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"Just promise!"

"Okay, I promise."

"Rachel is back."

They looked at Jason like he'd gone crazy. The statement was pretty ludacris.

"I thought Rachel was going to try to reconstruct the Sibylline books." Annabeth said.

"So did we but she started having seizures. Our medics couldn't help her so we messaged Chiron and asked if we could bring her here."

"Can we see her?"

"No, she is in the infirmary. Wait until the Apollo kids come out to tell us what's going on."

With that, Jason lay on his back and looked up at the sky. He began to tell the couple about all of the research he had been doing and the people he'd been in contact with to make sure that he could start collecting all of the data for the gods. Jason thought about mentioning how helpful it would have been to have Leo around but it wasn't the time for it.

He got up and brushed off sand that had stuck to him. He said his goodbyes and left the two to talk.

A scream made them jump. They turned and saw people from the Apollo cabin running out and crying. Percy and Annabeth looked at each other and then ran over to them.

"What's wrong you guys." Percy said.

"Our... Music!" sobbed a son of Apollo, "We can't play anything! Listen to this madness!"

The sobbing boy grabbed a guitar and began to play. It sounded like a million cats screeching all at once. The boy began to wail and he throw the guitar away. Annabeth comforted the boy and he stopped crying.

"What do we do?" Percy asked.

Annabeth looked up at him, "It isn't our place in interven."

"That's a first Annabeth."

"I swear to the Gods, I could hit you right now. We are going to New Rome next week and I don't want to get dragged into something."

"I guess you're right." Percy laughed.

"Watch it, seaweed brain."


	2. Chapter 2

Will came out of the infirmary to find a hooded person waiting by the door. It took Will a moment to work out who it was. Will's heart fluttered.

"Nico?" He asked.

Nico took down his hood, he shifted awkwardly and looked around to see if anyone was around. Will smiled at the smaller boy; he took hold of Nico's hands to warm them up. Nico scowled.

"Doctors' orders. Can't have you with cold hands now can we?"

Nico pulled his hands away, "Now isn't the time for that, Will. Chiron needs to speak to us."

"What about?" Will asked.

"Apollo is in danger. Apparently he's in New Orleans. Chiron wants us to go and save him," He muttered.

"What?" Will exclaimed.

Nico glared at Will, he really wanted to smack Will over the head but he restrained himself. He just shook his head.

"Think about it Will. Apollo is in danger and Rachel isn't meant to be here is she?"

"Don't be so harsh, I've been in the infirmary for weeks on end, so excuse me if I'm not thinking straight."

Nico gave a small laugh, "yeah, you've not been thinking straight."

Will gasped, "What do you mean?"

Nico slightly blushed, "forget I said anything."

They heard screaming from inside the infirmary. They ran inside and saw Rachel looking like she was having a seizure. It stopped and her eyes began to glow green.

"The earth will lose its sun and plummet into darkness,

Unless one with a heart becomes heartless.

The son of the dark and a son of light will each have to prove their might,

Wisdom and water will guide them through,

There is no escaping it has been set,

Everyone must pay their debt."


	3. Chapter 3

Will and Nico ran as fast as they could to reach Chiron. They told Chiron the prophecy and his face fell. He quickly gathered himself and called for Percy and Annabeth. Annabeth was fuming - why couldn't her life be normal just for once!?

They sat down at a table and began to talk. Suddenly, an iris message appeared. It was from Thalia.

"Artemis knows of your plans to save Apollo. You cannot go through with them," She barked.

"Why?" Will asked.

"Artemis feels that Apollo should pay for his crimes against Olympus."

"Can we hear that form Artemis herself?"

Nico scowled at Will and whispered to him, "Quit it! Maybe they're right."

Will stood up and shouted, "you think that they are right?! What the hell, Nico?"

Nico looked to the floor and muttered, "I didn't mean it like that."

All eyes were on the two boys. Will sat back down. He held Nicos hand under the table. He apologised for raising his voice. An uneasy silence filled the room.

The iris message cut out. The table was silent for a moment and then Annabeth broke the silence.

"We will help you, but we are not coming with you!"

Annabeth took Percy's hand and took him outside. Percy was shocked at this newfound anger in Annabeth. Percy held her and kissed her gently.

"We said that we aren't going to fight monsters or go on quests anymore!" She whimpered.

"I know Annabeth. The prophecy said that we will help them, not go with them. This is their quest. We'll just guide them along."

They kissed again and out of the corner of Percy's eye, he saw Nico and Will walking off in the direction of Coach Hegde's house.


	4. Chapter 4

Gleason Hedge opened his door abruptly to find Nico and Will with scared eyes.

"We need you to come a quest, Coach," Will said.

"I have my wife and baby to look after." He said, "I can't come with you."

"I never thought you would give up a chance to kill monsters, Coach." Nico taunted.

Mellie came up behind Gleason and rubbed his shoulders.

"You don't think I can look after myself Gleason?" She whispered.

"I don't want to leave you,"

"Go, it will be good for you."

The Coach nodded in defeat. He noticed the boys staring up at him.

"What are you gawping at! We've got a quest to go on. Just let me grab my baseball bat!"

And with that they headed to the Big House to talk to Chiron one last time.


	5. Chapter 5

Nico insisted that he was strong enough to shadow travel to New Orleans, Chiron, Coach Hedge and Will all looked at him and shouted, "No!" In unison.

Will whispered in Nico's ear, "Doctors' orders."

"You three will take two pegasi. Gleason you'll need to be on the one with your supplies."

The Coach nodded and the three of them left the Big House to the stables.

They loaded up two pegasi with weapons and the equipment that they needed. Percy greeted them when they were almost done, looking rather sheepish. He handed them a map of New Orleans with several red circles on it.

"Annabeth managed to get some more information out of the Hunters; they said that Apollo may be at one of these three locations." He paused then said, "Good luck, we'll help you the best we can," He turned to Nico, "Take it easy."

Percy took off sharply and that was it. The three climbed onto their pegasi and flew to New Orleans.


	6. Chapter 6

They had been flying for ten hours straight Will called for a break. They landed at a small rundown motel in Washington DC. They set up a camp for the night. The Coach was out like a light. Will said he'd take first watch but Nico joined him because he couldn't sleep. They talked softly. Nico snuggled close to Will, not because he wanted to it was cold and Will insisted.

"Nico, I'm scared that I'll lose my abilities. What happens if you get hurt and I'm not able to heal you?"

"You think that I can't take care of myself? But if it will ease you, we will find your dad and restore everything before that happens. The sun always rises."

"Not always. Go to sleep Nico," He snapped.

Nico scowled, "Fine! Whatever, Will."

Nico stormed away to the sleeping bags.

Will looked up at the stars and counted them. '100 less than last night' he noted.

Will could feel his energy draining, usually he would be cheerful and smiling in the most stressful situations but now he couldn't stand five seconds of irritation.

Will knew that whatever was happening to his dad was dreadful. He had always had a strong link with his dad and now it was taking its toll on Will.

Will thought about the prophecy.

"Unless one with a heart becomes heartless." He muttered to himself.

He cast his eyes over to Nico and he felt his chest get heavy and butterflies swarm in his stomach. He wondered if the line of the prophecy was about them, maybe he would have to become heartless.

Will began to play with his hands out of nerves, swirling them around as if they were cutting through steam or mist. Will gasped as he formed the magic mist that covered the monsters and demigods from mortals. Will may have been losing his powers that he'd inherited from Apollo, but now Will had gained a new one.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, Will presented the coach and Nico with breakfast. He had gotten them sandwiches and an apple each. He got himself two of the biggest coffees that he could find. He set the food down by their heads. When Will was by Nicos sleeping bag Nico turned to him. His black hair was sticking up in all directions. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Will looking at him, he looked at Will for a moment then hid under the sleeping bag.

Once they had eaten they packed up and set off to their destination once again.

The next time they stopped they were in Atlanta. The visit was short, they had a twenty minute rest and then they washed up. Will was not stopping. He wanted the horrible bubbling in his stomach to stop. He hated how snappy and mean he was being to Nico. He wondered where the hate that was corrupting his soul was coming from.

Shortly after their stop in Atlanta the Pegasus dropped down. They were too tired to go any further. The Coach forced Will to sleep this time.

In Will's dream he was on Mount Olympus.

"Apollo, you have crossed the line this time!" Zeus bellowed, "You let the prophecy of seven be told and then cause havoc among us. Gaea was defeated by whom? My son! What were your children doing Apollo?" Zeus began to laugh, "We know what Will was going, making goo-goo eyes at Hades's kid! I don't care about that promise we made to Jackson, Olympus will be closed forever and Apollo you are banished to Tartarus!"

A hole opened up underneath Apollo and he fell into the unknown horrors that he would have to face in Tartarus. The Olympians could not do anything. Hera was gagged and locked away somewhere on Mount Olympus. The other Gods knew that Zeus had lost his marbles. Defying him meant they would face the same fate as Apollo .

Apollo would rot with all monsters for eternity.

Will woke up feeling empty. He looked to the sky and saw a the sun fall at a rapid rate. The mist began to work overtime to keep some light going in the sky. Will shivered; he felt so alone and lost.

He put on a brave face and mounted onto his Pegasus.

"Nico, coach hedge! We leave, now!" He ordered.

The others awoke startled. Nico climbed on and wrapped his hands around Will. Nico felt something was extremely different about him. He was cold and empty. His face was pale. He almost felt like he was looking into a mirror. The Coach noticed it too.

They left where ever they were in silence.

After a while of flying Will piped up.

"Nico, I don't suppose you know how to get into Tartarus."


	8. Chapter 8

When they landed in New Orleans Nico pulled Will aside and urged him to talk. But, Will refused. He stubbornly crossed his arms and told Nico he was "Fine." Nico scowled at him. He couldn't deal with others stubbornness.

The Coach pulled out the map that Percy had given him. Lakeview, Carrollton and the Lower Ninth Ward had been circled. After studying the map for less than a minute the Coach put the map away and began to walk. He motioned for the boys to follow him.

"We're in Carrollton." He stated.

Nico didn't like the place; it was full of drunken ghosts. He felt like every move he took was being watched. He hated being watched.

"Annabeth would like this place." Will said looking at the buildings.

"Why are you thinking about Annabeth at a time like this?!" Nico's voice was brittle.

"Annabeth likes architecture and historical stuff doesn't she?"

"What's wrong with you?" He shouted.

"I think you're over reacting just a little." Will smirked.

"We're meant to be finding your dad! This isn't the time to be thinking about her!"

"You're jealous."

Nico stopped in his tracks. Gleason turned around, he'd tried to keep out of their argument but he could sense something was wrong.

"None of you know anything about me, so don't assume that you know things about me Will!"

Nico stormed away from them. The Coach put a hand on Will's shoulder. He pulled him along and they continued the search for Apollo. Will knew it was pointless but he didn't want to go back to Camp. Before he left he promised his cabin that he would fix everything and make it right. He was the cabin leader, it was his job after all. They all cheered and everyone was happy, besides Will's youngest sister, Mary. She was about five and she had the biggest tears that Will had ever seen. She said that she saw some bad thing that were happening to Apollo. And that she saw bad things going to happen to him and Will. Will hugged Mary and told her that he would fix it before any of that happened.

Nico managed to find somewhere quiet and away from other people. It was a vacant car park with many trees surrounding it. Nico screamed with anger and lashed out at the trees. He hated the way Will made him feel. He felt safe and calm with him. Will was gentle and kind but not in the annoying way Jason or Hazel were. They always checked up on him and babied him. Will treated him as an equal. Once Nico had let off steam he sat down on the grass. He looked around him; everything that he'd touched had died.

Nico had no reason to be jealous of Annabeth. He no longer liked Percy like that in that way. Annabeth and he were good friends.

Whenever Nico thought of Will he felt warm and whole. He hated himself for feeling that way. He knew it was wrong and stupid, there was no way that Will or anyone could return his feelings. He sighed and got up. He dragged his feet as he went to look for the others.

When he found them, they were in a rundown hotel. Will was on watch. He smiled when he spotted Nico. Nico sat down and forced himself not to look to Will. After many minutes of awkward silence, Nico spoke.

"Did you find anything?"

"No," Will muttered, "I... I'm sorry for how I've behaved."

"It is to be expected because you have a strong emotional link with your dad."

Will sighed, "That isn't an excuse. I'm going to make it up to you."

"You don't need to do anything."

"No, I do and I will." Will yawned and laid his head on Nico's lap, "is this okay?"

Nico froze not knowing what to do. He felt his heart rate quicken. It felt like a million butterflies were eating at his stomach. Will closed his eyes. Nico was still frozen with shock.

"How is one meant to react when a really attractive boy lays on your lap?" He thought.

The second he thought that he wanted to hurl himself off a cliff. It was sinful for him to feel the way he did.

But when he looked down at Will he was filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Why was he so ashamed of something that felt so right?

He went to speak but the words got trapped in his throat. Will opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Nico...I can move if you want." He whispered in a low tired voice.

"No," Nico blurted, "This is okay."


	9. Chapter 9

They arrived in Lakeview in an hour. As they walked around the district something unsettled Nico, the amount of recently dead ghosts that hung around. One passed him; it looked like it had been through a storm -its clothes were drenched. He tried to ignore them and focus on finding Apollo.

At around two in the afternoon they stopped for some food. Will was looking worse, the circles under his eyes had gotten darker. It seemed to be that only Will had noticed the disappearance of the sun.

Will got up and told the others that he was going for a walk. He had only been walking for 4 minutes when he heard the Coach shouting something. He turned and saw a monster towering above. The monster scooped Will up and ran off with him. The Coach ran after it screaming, "DIE! DIE! DIE! STAY STILL AND LET ME KILL YOU!"

Nico got out his sword and ran after the Coach.

The monster took Will underground. The others followed. They were lead into a large tunnel. The light was dim so they had to squint to see the monster. The monster walked out into a large clearing. It placed Will down and began sharpening a blade. The Coach ran out and began to attack the monster, Nico did the same. The monster flicked them off as if they were harmless flies. The monster flicked a switch and blinding lights flicked on.

It wore an outfit that resembled a nun but the dress was rather short. It had long blonde hair that was covered by a veil. Due to the height of the monster Nico saw something's that he wish he hadn't.

"What do you want with him?" Nico yelled.

"Grk wants to suck the life out of this demigod. That is what Grk does." The monster replied.

The monster pulled out a block and placed Will on it. Nico snapped into action and ran towards him.

"Nico stay back, I've got this!"

"Yes, stay away demigod." Grk agreed.

"Shut up!" Nico looked at Will,"Are you insane, it's going to chop off you-"

"NICO STAY AWAY. I HAVE GOT THIS!"

Nico obeyed and stayed where he was.

The axe cut through the air, Nico sprinted and the axe cut through his arm. The cut wasn't that deep but it was deep enough to draw blood. Grk threw Nico across the clearing, he sprained his arm from the fall. Grk swung the axe again.

Nico slowly lifted his head and saw Will jumping up and grabbing the axe and with one swift movement cut the monster in half. It crumbled into dust. Will ran to where Nico was and examined his arm.

"Nico you idiot!"

Will knew every part of the human anatomy. He knew how to do the most complex medical procedure. As Will ran his hand down Nico's cold and pale arm he felt nothing. Usually he could feel the bones and the blood rushing about. A sick look took over the blonde haired boy. His hands began to tremble.

"Will, what is it?" Nico whispered.

"It's all gone. I can't fix this," Will muttered over and over again, "I-I can't, Nico why?"

"What's gone?"

"I can't remember anything." He croaked, "my medical prowess has gone."

Will buried his head into Nico's chest, he let out a small scream and he sobbed loudly.

Will raised his head and apologised repeatedly to Nico.

Will lent forward and placed his lips on Nicos. To both of their surprise Nico kissed back. Nico could taste Wills tears; they were full of sadness and despair. As the kiss went on for longer and longer Nico was able to get into Will's head. He saw the monstrosities that Will had witnessed because of his father. When finally Will let Nico go his tears had dried. Will gave a faint smile then fell onto Nico.

Coach hedge, who had been quiet until that point began to speak.

"Nico, are you okay?"

Nico shook of his daze, "Yeah," he mumbled, "but I don't know about Will."

"What happened?"

"There were short flashes of his memories...it was extremely odd."

Nico gently pushed Will off of him. He got the Coach to help him carry Will out of the cave.

"I think we should find a hotel to rest." The Coach suggested.

The mention of the word 'hotel' made Nico tense up but he did want somewhere warm to stay.

"It better be cheap, we haven't got much money left."

They found a small hotel. They walked up and down the corridors, they found a door that had been left open. They went in and placed Will onto the bed. The Coach went to close the door while Nico made Will confortable. He looked at Will. He'd seen a memory of Will controling the mist, he wondered what else there was about Will that he didn't know.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning the trio had wandered the streets of the Lower Ninth Ward for hours and still hadn't found any leads. They began to get looks from people that they had past multiple times.

"Don't you think we should go?" Nico asked.

"No, we keep going."

"But...we've been down this street at least five times already."

"Nico's right, Will. We should rest or get something to eat. What if we run into a deadly monster, I won't be able to kill it 'cause I'm tired." The Coach grinned.

"Yeah...you're right." Will halted, "can you hear that?"

"I can hear the sound of monsters not being killed."

"No, I'm serious! It's like...a really annoying-." He turned and pointed, "There!"

A small dark girl with pigtails skipped across the street towards them. She wore a plane blue dress. She was humming.

She stopped humming, "I wouldn't go any further if I were you."

Will took one glance at the girl then said, "you're annoying. Go away!"

"I think you should listen to me." She batted her long curled eyelashes, "you will perish if you go any further."

Will ducked down to the girls level and grabbed the top of her dress in a fist.

"Listen we don't care for your childish lies. There is no truth behind your words." He growled.

The girl smirked and pointed to Nico, "so on his head be it. He will be seriously hurt and it will be by your hand."

Will raised his fist but realised that he was holding onto a small child.

"Cassy! Leave those people alone!" The girls' mother called.

The girl stuck out her tongue and skipped away.

They continued to walk until they found a small Starbucks. Inside was warm and cosy. Will sat with Nico in a booth while the Coach ordered. Nico sat by the window, he looked outside. Will in a poised manner. His leg bounced up and down so rapidly that the table shook. Nico turned to Will and saw him twitching and fidgeting. He placed his hand on Wills.

"Will, you're making the table shake." Nico whispered.

"Hum?" Will unlocked his fingers and looked at his leg, "Oh, sorry."

"Is everything okay?"

Wills voice wavered, "Yeah, everything is fine."

Nico looked down and his eyes widened, "Will...what's that?"

Will looked down and returned Nicos shocked look, "Its my jeans! I swear on my life, its my jeans! Look."

Will stood up and fixed up his jeans so they didn't bulge. Nico was staring intensely at Wills crotch, when he realised he cast his eyes away. Will slid back into the booth and they both laughed. The Coach came back and sat down.

"Did I miss anything?" He asked.

The boys looked at each other and laughed again. By the time they had composed themselves their food arrived.

The Coach laughed to himself when the food that he ordered arrived.

"Three drinks will be ready soon." The waiter said.

They ate their cupcakes and then got their drinks when they were called. After they had finished they sat in silence.

Will wracked his brain for a moment trying to remember the signs of blindness. He grit his teeth out of anger. Then after a while he remembered and his anger left him.

"Nico, are my eyes cloudy?" Will asked quietly.

"What?"

"Just look at me eyes."

"There is nothing wrong with them. Will is everything okay?"

Will nodded and turned away from him, "everything is fine. I'm probably just tired."

Will gently placed his hand on Nico's leg. He knew if he let go of him he would become lost in the darkness that had claimed him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Worthless. Good for nothing. Pathetic. Come join us in Tartarus, Will. Your mother was a dumb whore, what did Apollo even see in her? Let yourself go Will. Come and get lost in the darkness. Let go. Let that boy go. Let him go, he will never love you, you will never be loved. Pathetic!"

Will endured the torment in silence. He needed to find the light, he hated the dark. He could feel himself slipping away from the world. Will felt for Nicos hand, when he found it he slipped his fingers into his. Nicos fingers were short but thin, while Wills were long and a tiny bit crooked.

Will longed to see Nicos face at that moment. He suddenly felt like he was being dragged backwards. He yelled Nicos name but he didnt even turn. Will was suspended in the air. He felt blood rushing to his head. He grit his teeth but it didn't help.

"Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go! He's forgotten about you, he doesn't even know you exist. Come into the darkness Will. Join us, join us, join us. Let that wretched boy go. You'll love it in Tartarus. The pain and confusion will stop. You'll be free."

Will smiled wearily liking the sound of the idea. He dropped to the ground and managed to land on his knees.

"Kill yourself, Will. What have you got to offer the world? Nothing! You're better off dead!"

He crawled slowly trying to find something to impale himself on. He felt sharpness underneath him. He touched his legs and then the floor. He had been on broken glass the whole time.

"Idiotic son of Apollo!"

"Shut up!" He snarled.

"Oh, the boy has a tongue."

Will picked up a piece of glass. He whimpered as he placed it to his neck. The glass shook violently in his hand.

"Stop it, idiot!" He snapped at himself, "...Let go, its not like you're important anyway."

Will saw a flash of light. He gasped and almost dropped the glass. There was another flash. It was closer to him this time. He wished he hadn't been so eager to see the light again. The deaths of millions of people were shown to him. he heard their agonising screams and their pleas. He still held the glass to his neck.

After what felt like a lifetime Will was given back to the darkness. He stood, thinking it would be easier to walk than to crawl.

A lighted pathway appeared at the end was light, it was like a tunnel. Will began to walk, eager to leave the horrid place. He felt something cold touch him. He looked and found a corpse touching him. All along the walls were piles of new and old corpses. The corpses stared into Wills soul. They ripped at his cloths and through rocks at his bare pink skin as he trudged past them. His skin was soon black and blue, along with a splash of red.

"He likes a boyyy." An old corpse chuckled.

"Yes, I know that boy! Nico di Angelo."

"We'll kill the boy!"

"No!" Will screamed.

"YES WE SHALL KILL THAT BOY!"

"Wait! Why do you protest Will Solace?"

Will shook, his throat felt like he had been locked. He couldn't say it, but then he felt the rocks begin to hit his tired and bruised body.

"Its because...I...I love him. I, Will Solace love Nico di Angelo and I won't let you lay a finger on him!"

The corpses gasped, the laughed at Will. They sneered at him and through hever rocks as him.

A few meters in front of him was the light at the end of the tunnel. He was so close but so tired.

"You need to die! You're a sinful creature! Dieeeeeeee painfully!"

He finally collapsed. He had been successfully broken. He lay in the fetal position with wide eyes like he'd been given a million caffeine shots. He stared longingly at the light. He was so close but so far from it. His eyes fluttered, he stretched his hand out to the light. But his eyes shut, his body was too exhausted to continue.


	12. Chapter 12

Wills eyes shot open. He knew he was alone and he was in an apartment. He was laying on a old dirty mattress by a big window. It was night time, the dim light of the moon let Will see. His hands were thin and shaking. How long had he been walking? He felt a knife next to him, he grabbed it. He heard footsteps getting closer to him. His eyes closed shut and he couldn't open them. He stood up not caring that his legs wanted to give way and held the knife out in the direction that the sound was coming from. The person had light footsteps, as if they were cautiously of waking someone up. .

"Will, you're awake?" The voice was wrong, "Why are your eyes closed?"

"Who are you?" Will demanded.

"If you opened your eyes you'd know."

"You can't trick me...I know Nico's voice. You are not him."

The person moved towards him. It softly touched his arm. He felt a spark, a lease of life, something he could hold onto that would prevent him from slipping back into the darkness. Will felt his eyelids become relaxed and he cautiously opened one eye. He had been wrong. Looking up at him was Nico. Will frantically patted the smaller boy down, when he had done he mustered a tiny smile.

"Nico! It's you, not a trick!" He exclaimed, "But your voice...its changed."

"You've missing for three months. I found you in an empty town far from New Orleans."

"Three months?" He whispered.

Will shook and the voices of despair started to speak to him again. Tears sprang to his eyes. He gripped onto Nico tightly.

"Please tell me you hear that."

"Nothing! Let go. Your life is worthless. Missing. Failure. You can't fix this mess. You can't fix this. Broken. Broken. Everything is broken! Apollo has been in Tartarus for so long now Will. He had faith in you, its gone now. Your mother wanted to get rid of you but she couldn't bring herself to do it! You're stupid and a failure. YOU FAILED AND BROKE YOUR PROMISE! YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD FIX THIS! Lire!"

"Nico, speak to me!" He sobbed, "Please, I don't know what's real anymore."

Will saw something move in the corner of the room out of the corner of his eye.

"You will die this hour!" It screamed, it's voice was distorted.

"Not if I destroy you first! You foul creature and I'll send you back to wenst you came." Bitterness filled Will's voice.

"Will, there is nothing here." Nico's voice shook.

"There is! Are you-"

"Di angelo, come here so I can kill you!"

"Will, this is all in your head. It's not real."

"This is real, you just cannot see it. I don't know what this thing is but I don't think its from Tartarus. It's different."

The thing in the corner moved towards Will. It had the skeleton of a rams head and a humans body, but the body was distorted like it was made out of static or a shadow. It wore a black suit with a piercing red tie.

It was extremely lanky, it's hands were long and bony. In its right hand there was a puppet. It passed through Will. He groaned and collapsed on the ground.

The Creature became visible to Nico for a split second. Nico gazed into the holo ram eye sockets and he felt his insides begin to churn. The Creature waved its puppet tauntingly in Nicos direction. The puppet looked like Will.

"Will, you're right. That thing isn't from Tartarus."

Nico helped him up but Will pushed him away.

"Do you want to die?" Will groaned.

"Will, what-"

"No time for questions. Nico please leave. It wants your flesh." He paused, "you can't tell the Coach about this. I can't go back to camp without saving my dad. I promised I would fix it."

"Tell him what?"

"Apollo...is in Tartarus. You need to go!"

Nico nodded and walked towards the door.

"I'll find you. I'll fix this."

Nico left the room swiftly so Will couldn't see his tears.

The Creature towered over Will again it held the puppet in front of his tired eyes. It looked exactly like Nico. Will groaned again.

"You need to kill that boy." It ordered.

"No! Why do you want this?" Will's voice wavered.

"I need bloodshed!" It growled.

Some light caught the blade of the knife in his hand.

"But why do you want me to kill Nico?"

"We need a damaged soul to devour, that boy was perfect."

"If I shed my blood, will that save Nico?"

The Creature grinned, baring it's teeth, "yes, I spouse you will have to do now."

The Creature picked Will up as if he was lifeless. It threw Will over its shoulder and they sunk into the shadows. Light escaped Will's eyes once again.


	13. Chapter 13

Wills chains had to be changed again because amount of weight he had lost. His stomach growled loudly. He whimpered, he knew what was coming. The Creature ripped his baggy t-shirt exposing his back. The whip cracked against his bare back. Laughter. Crack. Laughter. Crack. Laughter. Crack, crack, crack, crack. Blood. The Creature lingered over Will.

"Make no sound, Will! Only respond when you are spoken to. Got it?" It screeched in his ear.

Will nodded slowly. The whip came down, hard.

"Respond with your voice or I'll take that from you as well!"

"Sorry, I will do better next time."

Will had to endure the voices of despair in silence. If a whimper or a scream left his mouth he would be punished.

When a tear left Wills eye the Creature burnt him. As the flames bit at him he wondered if that would set him free. Being blind was like being half way between the worlds of the living and the dead. But he survived the harsh flames and only his arms, back and legs were burnt. His legs and arms quickly healed but on his back he was left with swirls that the flames had made.

"Why didnt you let the flames kill you?"

Will was given back his sight briefly so he could see the "niceness" of the Creature. The Creature had prepared a banquet for Will. Will gasped when he saw the food. His mouth watered. The Creature grabbed Will by his chained throat.

"You made a sound?" It growled.

"No." Will looked longling at the food.

"You disgusting vermin! I was ready to give you this and you lie to me! Filthy, putrid pig!"

Will was taken away and was strapped down on a wooden chair in a horse shed. The Creature held a hot branding iron. Will squirmed and struggled to get away but it did nothing. The Creature branded Will left hand and his right forearm with a 'H'. Will screamed as the iron sizzled against his skin.

The Creature pulled Will by the rusted chain around his neck back into the banquet room. The food of luxury had been replaced with meat grizzle and scraps of vegetables. The creature forced Will onto his knees in front of the food scraps. The Creature slowly and proudly strutted to its throne and sat down. It laughed as Will grovelled at his feet as he ate for the first time in weeks. The Creature dangled the puppet of Nico in front of Will.

"So, Will...tell me what you are." It chuckled darkly.

"A disgusting pig." Will murmured.

"That's right! And where shall you forever be?"

"Right here, underneath you."

"You've learnt." It said with fake surprise, "I didn't know pigs could learn."

The Creature rose and walked out of Will's field of vision. Will dearnt look up out of fear of the creature abusing him.

It came back and lifted Will's head. It forced his mouth open and poured a dark liquid in. It tasted like Chlorine and Sulfur. Will swallowed, he didn't want to find out what would happen if he had spat. He felt the liquid run down his esophagus into his stomach. He felt blood rising to his head. His vision went spotted. He retched and gagged. He then finally emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He felt the Creature kick him but he was too tired to care. He felt something burn against his bottom lip. He looked down and caught a glimpse of a needle and thread. The Creature stood back and marveled at his work.

"Now I can get some peace and quiet." It said, strutting back to its throne.

Wills shaking hands slowly moved up to his mouth. He felt the stitches that zig-zagged from his bottom lip to his top. He slowly lifted the hand that had been touching his mouth and raised it to the Creature. He took down his index finger, then his ring finger, then finally his pinky. A small smile of satisfaction crept onto Wills face. He then collapsed from exhaustion.


	14. Chapter 14

Nico lightly wrapped his cracked knuckles on the door. He waited patiently, then after five minutes Rayna came out of the door. Her stern expression dropped the moment her dark eyes cast themselves onto Nico. A smile grew and she wrapped her arms around the smaller boy. Nico gasped and froze, but after a while he placed his arms onto Rayna's back.

"Where have you been?" She said letting him go.

"I stayed at camp half-blood...but if you mean of as late, I've been in New Orleans."

"Why did you go there?"

"A quest, we were mislead into thinking that Apollo was there but he's really in Tartarus."

"Is that why you came here?"

"Party. I need to see Jason, but I don't know where to find him."

"What do you need to see him about?"

"Personal matters."

"Will matters?" She smiled.

"How do you..." He trailed off and looked down.

"Jason may be of Roman blood but he sure knows how to talk like a Greek." She laughed, but then got serious, "is everything okay?"

"Yes, I just need to ask him something."

"You'll find him in the library or in his apartment. If he's sleeping, don't disturb him."

Nico nodded and thanked Rayna.

He found Jason in the library of New Rome. Around him was pieces of crumpled up paper and about six or seven large sized coffee cups. There were two large ring-binders that were moderately full. Jason lay laying back in his chair rubbing his temples, he slowly took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Nico slowly approached behind Jason. The older boy turned feeling that something was behind him and he jumped.

"Nico, don't do that!" He smiled, "How have you been? Why are you here?"

Nico got out a folded piece of paper from his jeans pocket. He sat down and unfolded it. It was a sketch of the creature that had captured Will.

"Do you recognise this? Or can you try and find out what it is?" Nico muttered.

Jason put his glasses back on and studied the picture. He frantically began to flip through his folders. Nico glanced over, They were portfolios on every god and goddess. Jason kept looking back to the picture then to his folders. He sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what this is or where its from. Why did you want to know?"

"Its captured Will." He said looking down.

"How long has it had him?"

"Almost two months now."

Jason thought for a moment, "I can try and look at gods that aren't Greek or Roman. It may be Egyption or somewhere like that. I'll find it out for you."

Nico smiled, "Thank you, Jason."


	15. Chapter 15

After what felt like years of enduring pain and isolation, Will finally reached his limit. He was frail and he was just too tired to continue. Will opened his mouth with such a force that he bust open the stitches. he felt blood pouring into his mouth but he didn't care.

"Creature! Release me, I give in." Will muttered.

"Do you fully submit to me?" It boomed.

"If it means freedom."

"Oh, it seems to me that you have misunderstood." The creature whispered in his ear, "You will never be free from me."

"But Nico is safe?"

"Yes, that disgusting boy will be safe from me."

Will felt a sick, falling sensation like the one that you get when you miss a step on the stairs in the dark. Will was in the dark and was being dragged by evil.

Suddenly, he was alone and his sight had returned. He was in a forest. He had been stripped down to baggy black shorts. His thin and bony body was exposed. It was night time, he could see a small glow from a fire in the distance. He had been told that the fire was Nico's. He wasn't allowed to pursue it until he had shed one liter worth of blood. Will pressed the knife that he had been given into his skin. He made no sound as he made the incisions. Will noticed strings attached to his limbs. When the Creature was happy it left with a smug smile of satisfaction on its face. Will felt heavy, like two massive boulders were dragging behind him. He suddenly felt the effects of his starvation. His bones hurt. His heart hurt. He tried to count the weeks he had been without food. He thought three weeks, maybe four...five?

He wanted to sprint towards the fire to see Nico but all he could manage was a slow tired walk. He pushed through thorny bushes they pricked him and he jumped. As he got closer and closer to the fire he felt nervous and excited both at once. He burst through trees and collapsed onto the ground.

Nico thought he had accidently somnomed a skeleton from the underworld. But he looked closer and he saw it was Will. It had been three months since Nico left Will in the apartment building.

Nico picked him up and cradled him. He moved him close to the fire. Will looked up at Nico and smiled. He wanted to cry but fear stopped him.

"Nico," he whispered moving a piece of his hair out of his eyes, "you're safe now. Nico...I lo-"

Will's eyes closed before he could finish.

Nico could feel Wills soul dancing closer and closer to death. Nico removed his shirt and ripped it. He tied the strip above the cut on his arm. Nico inspected the rest of Will's body. Along his back there were marks from where flame and a whip had licked him harshly. He felt bad for thinking that the burns looked pretty. They swirled like the smoke that you get when you blow out a match or a candle.

Nico ran his hands along Wills boney body. His cheeks had sunken in. His ribs jutted out of his body. Black circles made his eyes look like craters. Will had lost most of his yellow hair, what was left was dirty blonde or grey. Tears swelled in Nicos tired eyes.

"Will, you're one of the only living things that I am good at talking to. Please...don't die on me." tears ran down his cheeks and landed on Will, "I couldn't handle having another person I love die on me."

The Coach began to stir, Nico abruptly pulled his hands away from Will and wiped his eyes. Gleeson jumped when he saw Will. He quickly grabbed the first aid kit and tended to Will. When he felt Nico hovering over his shoulder he ordered him to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Will being unconscious gave the coach and Nico a chance to talk. When Nico was making Will comfortable one night the coach began brought up what had happened New Orleans.

"So you and Will... Do some rules need to be changed?"

Nico immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to face the coach. He was very tempted to slap the coach and send him to the depth of the underworld but he didn't.

"No coach, no rules need to be changed." Nico muttered, he turned away, trying not to blush.

"Nico, you know I was kidding right? I'm happy you aren't so angry at yourself."

Nico laughed darkly, "You know nothing about me, Coach."

With that Nico shadow travelled him and Will to the next town over. Nico curled up next to Will and waited for the Coach to find them, which he did.

"Nico you little worm, when I find you you're going first on my kill list!"

"Who's second?" Nico called playfully.

It took only a few seconds for the Coach to find them. He plonked himself down next to Nico.

"What's with you?"

Nico scowled, "I'm not going to tell you how I'm feeling."

"Okay whatever Nico." The Coach got up, "you're lucky to have Will, Nico. Most people wouldn't know how to handle you."

"What do you mean?" Nico tired not to let the Coach know that what he'd said hurt him.

"People like to be trusted Nico. That means that you've got to let others know how you're feeling."

The Coach began to walk away but Nico called him back.

"Coach, is it okay for me to like Will in the way that I do?"

The Coach was taken aback. "Of course it's okay." He paused, "Nico, what Cupid said to you...you're not a coward for wanting to be alone and running away. Forget about fighting demons and monsters, what you did Nico, facing the God of love is one bravest things that you could have done."

Nico thought about Will and what he had seen when Will had kissed him back in Lakeview. He needed to repay Will for all that he had sacrificed to save him. After a few moments of deep thought Nico had come up with a plan.

"I think we should pay Mount Olympus a visit." He said.

"Are you saying we go back?"

"Yes, if we show the gods the damage that this is doing to everything then they will have to reopen Olympus and take Apollo out of Tartarus."

The coach smiled and said, "This is going to be fun!"


	17. Chapter 17

Compared to being tourchered by the Creature, watching Apollo wander aimlessly, rock in corners and scream so hard that his vocal chords ripped was a breeze. What wasn't so easy to handle was the effects that Will felt. He felt everything that Apollo did on his body. He had seen so much of Tartarus and its horrors. He sometimes wished to be blind again.

The dream shifted, Will was at camp observing the Apollo cabin. They were disoriented but none were as bad as him. Some still had their healing abilities. But their music and archery had gone out of the window.

The dream went back to Tartarus. This time Apollo noticed Will. Apollo flinched thinking that another monster had come to fight him but then as he looked closer he saw that it was Will. Apollo embraced his son. For the first time in months Will felt real warmth.

"Will, I'm so sorry that this had happened." Apollo said sadly.

"Please just tell me this why this happened me?"

Apollo sighed and turned away from his son, "I was being selfish. I saw greatness within you and when you are with Nico it multiplies. I'm sorry, I've been such a horrid father." Apollo began to weep, "I never knew that you would lose your sight or be tortured by that thing. I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Will comforted his father, "Its fine. Just stop this crying, its foolish."

"You're right. But just look at you. Your arms and back and scared."

Will shrugged, "War scars, dad seriously it's nothing."

"Will, there is another reason that I chose you. I know that you can stop the hatred that Zeus has for me."

Will looked at his father in bewilderment, "Father, his hatred for you is thousands of years old. How can I stop it?"

"Prove your might, Will. You and Nico can fix this."

Apollo embraced his son again. Wills pain left him. He felt peaceful and light.

"The next time we meet everything will have been fixed. I believe in you!"

Apollo smiled and gave Will a big thumbs up.


	18. Chapter 18

When Will woke he didn't know where he was. He saw white. He thought that he was still captured by the Creature, but he remembered returning to Nico. He touched his mouth, his lips had holes in from where he had ripped the stitches apart. He sat up slowly and carefully. On a tray at the end of his bed was a plate of something. He looked at it and tried to move towards it. He felt his stomach ach and growl. He gasped and shrank in fear. He waited for the whip.

"Will?" The Coach asked walking into the room, "What are you doing?"

Will looked at the Coach. It took him a while but he remembered that he was a friend. He pointed to the tray with a shaking hand.

"What is that?" His voice was hoarse from lack of use.

"Youre kidding, right?" When Will only looked at him blankly he said, "its food, Will."

Will tried to remember food. He only remembered a whip. He tried not to shake but he couldn't stop.

"Will, that food is yours. You can eat it."

Will had tried his hardest not to cry but he didn't have the strength to hold back the tears. He knew it was coming, The whip or the fames. He waited but nothing came. He was being a fool, a worthless pig and no punishment was coming his way. A look of utter confusion took over his face.

The Coach handed Will some water. He didn't have the strength to hold the glass, so he rest it on the bed.

"Is this my punishment?" He asked calmly, "What is it, poison?"

"Its water. It makes up 80% of your body."

"There is poison in my body?"

"No! Its not poison or a punishment."

Nico fell out of the chair that he was sitting on. The fall woke him up. He dropped the book that he was holding. He hit his head on the edge of the bed. The Coach left the two boys, knowing that they would need to talk.

Nico retrieved the 'English to Italian' dictionary that he had found in Wills draw.

"Hey, Will. You should drink that." He said pointing to the glass of water.

Will looked at the glass of water. He picked it up with two hands and placed it to his cracked and damaged lips. He poured the water into his mouth. It felt like magic. His mouth was a desert that had been a year without rain. The cool liquid ran down his throat bringing his empty body back to life.

"What was the thing in this glass called again?" Will asked quietly.

"Water." Nico said bluntly.

"Oh yeah," Will laughed weakly, "It was wonderful."

"You can have some more."

Wills face lit up, "Seriously?"

Nico got up and went to fill the glass up. He put in two ice cubes. Will was still confused about the whole water thing. Nico had to explain how ice was formed. Will was like a small child, Nico found it amusing but deeply saddening at the same time.

"What do you remember?" Nico asked handing Will his sixth glass of water.

"Remember...I don't know. Everything is fuzzy."

Will froze with fear for a moment. He got out of the bed and backed away from Nico.

"I didnt do anything wrong!" Will cried, "Please not the whips again."

Nico didn't know what to do he just stood there watching in horror.

"You want to burn me?" Will began to shake, "STOP!"

Nico broke out of his shock and ran to Wills side. He held him tightly. He felt Will pushing away and he let go.

"Who are you?" Will growled, "Has the Creature send you to do his dirty work?"

"No, Will is me. Its Nico. Snap out of this!" He pleaded.

"Child of Hades. You are working with the Creature, I can smell it on you."

"What? Will you're speaking madness."

"Stop taunting me! Hurry up and get it over with, just kill me."

Will sunk to his knees. His skeleton like body was tired and it couldn't support him any longer. He looked up at Nico. Tears began to blur his vision,

"I dont know what came over me. Nico, I'm sorry."

Nico crouched so he was level with Will. He kissed his cheek then flicked his forehead.

"You better be sorry. Don't tell anyone that I kissed you."

Nico planted his lips of Wills. It felt like the world disappeared and it was only them. Nico lost his balance and fell on top of Will. Nico had his hands by Wills head, one of Wills legs was in between Nicos. Nico bent his arms so he could kiss Will, their lip touched only for a moment when Nico pulled back.

"Will...is that your jeans again?" He whispered.

Will scanned Nicos face trying to make sense of the comment and trying to remember when he said something like that. When he made the connection he turned bright red and cursed. He tried to push Nico off of him but he didn't have the strength. The cut that ran down his arm caught his eye, a sick feeling filled his stomach.

"Can you get off me, Nico?" He murmured.

Nico pushed himself up and sat up, Will struggled to get up, he held onto the framing of the bed then leant against it. Will closed his eyes softly.

"Will, are you asleep?" Nico half whispered.

"No, just resting." He took a sharp breath and groaned, "I wish Apollo would stop with the whole being in Tartarus thing."

"Are you okay?" Nico said sliding over to him.

"Yeah, its happened before, I think he's fighting something." He clutched onto his rib, "Yeah, he's fighting something with teeth." Will closed his eyes again and muttered, "Nico, tell me a story."

"Once there was-"

"No! Tell it to me in Italian."

"Oh yeah, I was meant to ask you about that. You are learning Italian?"

Will nodded sleepily and rested his head on Nicos shoulder.

"Per te." Will whispered.

"You do so much for me Will."

"I like making you happy. Now tell me a story."


	19. Chapter 19

After many weeks Will had gained enough weight so he no longer looked like a skeleton. His damaged lips healed slightly. There were small rips in the skin where the thread had been. His nightmares had gotten worse but after talking about them with Nico or one of his siblings he didn't feel so disconnected from the world. Will insisted on leaving the infirmary but everyone stopped him. He went as far as sneaking out, he got two steps outside before he collapsed. He hated waiting and being confined to his small room in the infirmary. He often paced about in his room, rambling or muttering to himself.

Nico walked into the room slowly, he heard faint crying. All of the lights were off. Nico fumbled for the light switch. There were red pools all over the floor. He found Will rocking, hiding under the bed. He clutched onto the thing in his hand so tightly that his hand was cut. Nico crouched closer and closer to Will.

"I've got to save him. I won't let go. Shut up, or i'll cut you as well." He snarled under his breath.

A long line had been cut into Wills arm, it ran from his elbow to his wrist. It had gone over the cut that Will had made when the Creature had captured him. It wasn't a deep cut, the main blood loss was coming from his hand. Nico lightly placed his hand into Will's shoulder. Will flinched then stopped rocking. He turned his head, his eyes were full of shock.

"Nico. What have I done?" He whispered.

"You've cut yourself." Nico replied bluntly.

Tears swelled up in his eyes, "It felt like it was happening. I needed to save you. You've got to be safe."

"Well its not happening now. You need to stop this Will. Its been two months."

Will stiffened, rage flamed in his eyes, "You can't even imagine what I've been though. Maybe I should have let the Creature take you instead." Will smirked, "At least I came back. You would have found a way to leave, just like always."

"I left for different reasons."

"No, when they captured me they made it very clear that they knew about us. Look at my hand Nico." Will thrusted the hand that had been branded in front of Nicos eyes, he stared at the 'H' confused, "Think about it! What are we?"

Will scooted out from under the bed. He went into the bathroom and began to wash the cuts. He usually would have cried out at the stinging but he had gotten used to the sensation from the amount of whippings he had received. He found a bandage in the cupboard underneath the sink that was now coloured red. He wrapped the bandage around his arm and hand. He went out of the bath room and saw Nico carrying a bucket of soapy water. Together they cleaned up the red pools that dotted the floor. They did so without saying a single word.

It took another two weeks before Will was released from the infirmary. Will and Nico walked out together. When they walked out of the infirmary they were faced with utter chaos.


	20. Chapter 20

The one time the Percy visited Camp halfblood was of course the time that the gods decided to destroy the camp.

Percy and Jason stood back to back. Lightning struck the ground and waves crashed onto the shore. Percy commanded the waves to die down and Jason redirected the Lightning away from the camp but the gods were giving it everything that had...which was a lot!

Fire began to spring up from the ground. That was Hephaestus's doing. No doubt the other gods were causing mayhem around the camp.

Percy and Jason were at their limit. Out of the corner of their eyes they saw a black and yellow figure running towards the Pegasus stables.

"Will? Nico? What are you doing?" They called to the younger demigods.

"Proving our might!" They called in unison.

Will past the shooting range. He quickly grabbed a quiver and began to fill it with arrows. He slung the full quiver and bow that he found over his shoulder.

Nico grabbed a Pegasus. He took it to where Will was and they took off to the Empire State Building.


	21. Chapter 21

Will stared down the lightning bolt point as it inched closer to his chest. Nico stood by Zeus, he had betrayed Will by calling the attention of the Gods making it known that they were there. Will felt foolish but some part of him knew that Nico would betray him at some point. A part of him couldn't believe it that Nico would do such a thing, especially after everything that had happened. Nico stood by Zeus's side like the leach he was.

"It is unusual that I would let a son of Hades stand by me but this is a very special day." Zeus said coolly.

Will glanced at Nico for a split second, he mouthed something to Will; it was either 'moss' or 'mast'. Will began to go through similar sounding words in his head as Zeus babbled on about how great he was.

"_MIST_!" Will thought, "WAIT, NICO ISN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT!"

Will balled up his fists and concentrated on forming and controlling the mist. Zeus looked at him shocked.

"Ha! The Demigod thinks he can trick us using the Mist!"

"Have you forgotten who my father is?" Will smirked, "It is rare for children of Apollo to be able to control the Mist. Even I, a pawn on your chess board, can manipulate you."

"L-lies!"

"The hatred that you have for Apollo. I will _annihilate _it!"

With one swift movement Will pushed Zeus's Lightning bolt aside and touched his forehead and his chest with the palms of his hands. Will concentrated and began to search the God of the Sky's memories.


	22. Chapter 22

Will was young when he had wandered onto the titaness territory. He had always been curious about the mysterious house that took people's memories. He slowly walked up to the front door, it suprised Will that he found it open. A woman with long wavy hair was sat cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed. Smoke from a fire filled the room. To Will's surprise he could breathe just fine. He sat himself down opposite the titaness. She had a permanent frown on her face.

"Hey, I'm Will. What are you doing?" He beamed.

"Hello, son of Apollo. I am Mnemosyne. I'm remembering a more pleasant time than this. What brings you here, demigod?" Her voice was slick and smooth.

Will thought for a moment, "Mayonnaise," He said, "is it true that when people come here that they lose their memories?"

The Titaness scowled, "Mnemosyne. That is somewhat true. Most people who come to my home lose their memories because they don't have the mental capacity to handle all of their memories at once. That is how I test people, young demigod. I bring forward every memory that person has and force them to remember them all at once. Those who pass my test I train."

"How do you pass the test?"

"Don't die."

"Those who pass. What do you teach them?"

Mnemosyne laughed, "Oh, you precious demigod. I teach them how to change memories, how to erase them, how to warp someone's perception of reality, how to locate lost memories... There is so much more, little demigod. Do you really want to take my test?"

Will nodded eagerly. Mnemosyne smiled evilly. She placed her hands on his chest and forehead. She located every one of his memories and brought them forward into his conscious mind. She felt the multiple paths in Wills mind reconnecting all at once as he relived every moment of his life. Wills body convulsed violently. Mnemosyne pulled away and was surprised to see that Will didn't die. He threw up and then blacked out for two days.

Many years later just before Mnemosyne's final test (which was to let him go and fend for himself) the Titaness taught Will how to bring forward every single memory of a person at once. Will often wondered what life would be like without the Titaness being around him. Will had faint memories of his mortal family but he suppressed them as much as he could. After all of his years with the Titaness of memories he never thought he would use his newfound powers on the king of the Gods.


	23. Chapter 23

The elemental and Godly chaos had stopped raging at the camp. Percy and Jason allowed themselves to collapse. Annabeth and Piper who had join in on the fighting caught their boyfriends before they fell to the ground. They took them to the infirmary and gave them neater. A sudden chill raced up Annabeth's spine.

"Wisdom and water will guide you through." She paused, "We haven't helped those two."

"Maybe there is a chance to still help them." Piper suggested, "Maybe you're meant to go to Mount Olympus as well."

"But with Percy like this?"

Piper handed Annabeth some more nectar.

"Give him this and take him with you. He may wake up on the way."

Annabeth nodded and gave it to Percy. She lifted him off of the bed and took him to a Pegasus. They headed off to Mount Olympus to complete the prophecy.


	24. Chapter 24

Percy woke up with a start. He felt weird and queasy. He felt something familiar beneath him.

"Blackjack?" Percy muttered

"Hey boss, have you got any sugar cubes? I've been flying for ages." the horse complained.

"No I don't have any sugar cubes. Where are we going?"

"Mount Olympus. Oh, maybe the Gods have sugar cubes!"

"Annabeth, why are we going to Mount Olympus?"

Annabeth sighed, "To complete the prophecy, seaweed brain."

They landed on top of the empire state building and snuck in through a secret entrance. Percy and Annabeth both gasped as they walked into the throne room. The gods that were present were stationary and silent. Will was touching Zeus's forehead and chest which made no sense to Percy. Nico stared at Percy and Annabeth.

"What are you doing here?" He growled

"A simple hello would suffice, Nico. Or is hello not your type either?" Percy said.

Annabeth glared at him, "We came to help, the prophecy said they we would guide you."

"How do you know it's you the prophecy is talking about? It could have meant your parents. Not everything is about you two!"

Percy looked at Annabeth sheepishly. She ignored him.

"What is Will doing?" Annabeth asked calmly.

"I don't know. The more time I spend with him the more it seems that I don't know about him."

Zeus and Will collectively gasped. Nico ran to Wills side, he caught him just before Will collapsed.

"So many memories." Will whispered.

Nico scanned will sickly looking face, "Will I don't understand, what did you do?"

"I changed Zeus's memory of Apollo and I-"

Wills' eyes fully closed. Will began to burn up in Nico's' arms.

"I think I need water and wisdoms help." Nico said trying to keep his voice from breaking.

The pair went over and Annabeth tended to Will. She gave him some nectar then she fashioned a small blanket for Will and placed it on his forehead. The cloth that she used to construct the blanket was sensitive to heat and the hotter the thing was the cooler the blanket got. The colour returned to his face and he began to cool down. Zeus slowly got to his feet and he brushed himself off. Zeus looked around the room in a sluggish manner.

"Where is Apollo? Hera!" Zeus boomed.

Hera was pulled into the throne room by some guards. The gag was ripped away from her mouth and she spluttered.

"Zeus, Apollo is in Tartarus… where you put him." Hera said quietly.

"Hera now you are talking nonsense! Why would I put Apollo in Tartarus?"

The room fell into an awkward silence. Athena, Hephaestus, Aphrodite and Ares shifted in their chairs, none of them daring to look at Zeus.

"Well this isn't getting Apollo back is it?" Zeus sounded like an angry school teacher.

Zeus clapped his hands and summoned Apollo back from the depths of Tartarus. It happened so quickly that only Nico saw Apollo crawling out of Tartarus. Apollo had burns and cuts all over his body. They slowly began to heal once he was on Mount Olympus. The instant Apollo was standing in solid ground Will woke up and gasped for air. Nico felt the warmth in Will's hands return. Once Nico realised he was holding onto his hand he pulled away. Annabeth removed the blanket knowing that her work was done. Apollo looked at his son with grateful eyes. Apollo went over to the boys and he hugged Will. Will began to sob loudly. Tears wet the back of Apollos tattered shirt.

"Dad, I did it." He whispered through his crys.

"Will, you're brilliant." Apollo smiled brightly.

Will smiled back, "You haven't seen the best part."

Apollo and Nico exchanged a look of worry. Will rose and turned to the Olympians. He wiped his eyes then raised his hands and placed them out in front of him. He consented hard and erased the memory of that moment from the Gods. They would never know how Apollo got back or that the Demigods were ever there. They would never know that Will had not only changed the memory of Apollos and Artemis's mother for Zeus but he also changed it in all of the Olympians besides his dad. Not even history books were safe. Will rewrote a part of history and only his would dad know the truth.

After Will had finished he turned to the other Demigods. He smiled brightly at Nico and took his hand.

"I think the sun should be rising now." He paused and looked at Nico, "Jason told me about how much you like the sun, Nico."


	25. Chapter 25

After months, the sun had returned to the sky. The demigods stood outside mount Olympus and soaked up the sun rays. Percy looked at Annabeth lovingly. They talked in hushed whispers and began to get very close to one another. Will gave Nico a look and they let the older demigods be alone. As they walked down the streets of New York Nico realised that Will was holding his hand again. He pulled his hand away and stuck it in his pocket. Will frowned.

"Why don't you like holding my hand Nico?" Will made a small laugh, "do I embarrass you?"

Nico's opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. He began to blush.

"You know," Will continued, "I could embarrass you."

"You...you don't embarrass me." He whispered.

Will smiled, "how do I make you feel Nico?"

Nico scowled at Will like he was going to slap Will across his smiling little face. Nico stormed down the street. Will chased after Nico; once he caught up to him he grabbed his hand and spun him around. Their lips touched for a brief moment then the kiss broke.

"Nico...I...is this okay?" Will stuttered.

Nico smiled weakly and kissed Will, but he then broke it.

"No! This is wrong. I can't...this is shameful." Nico muttered.

"But you've kissed me before." Will sneered.

Nico glared at him then began to walk away from Will.

"Wait! Nico, I'm sorry!"

Nico turned and narrowed his eyes, "stuff you, Solace!"

Will walked over to Nico and said quietly, "Ti amo."

"No one could love me, don't be ridiculous." He paused, "wait...you said that perfectly."

"It was the first phrase I learnt."

"No! Will, I can't do this. It's wrong and you are a jerk."

Will nodded slowly, "I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry. But how do you feel towards me?"

"I'm not good with feelings!"

"I'm no child of Aphrodite, I'm not good with feelings as well. But I know that you drive me crazy, Nico."

"W-what?" Nico stammered

"Dude! I'm confessing my love for you it'd be nice if you weren't -"

"Stuck up, moody, the son of Hades? I can go on."

"I was actually going to say 'it'd be nice if you weren't looking at me like I've got a fish on my head' but those could work too." He laughed.

Nico looked at Will's head, "if anyone were to have a fish on their head I'd place my bet on Percy."

The boys broke out into a laughter as they imagined fish on top of each other's heads. Nicos previous anger with Will had disappeared with the laughter. Nico stood on his tip toes and ruffled Will's blonde hair. He lost his balance and fell onto Will.

"Who would look hotter with a fish on their head, me or Percy?"

Nico got off of Will. He huffed, "I'm not saying."

Will had a flashback to his last day with Mnemosyne.

"Will, you must know that if anyone is to find out that you can control memories it will cause riots." The titaness said.

"Why do you tell me this now?"

"You know that you'll be leaving me in a tomorrow and this information would have clouded your mind and hindered your training." She paused and began to rub Wills tense shoulders, "do you know why I train demigods? Why I don't have children?" Will shook head in response, "it is because Zeus was scared that my children would be too powerful. Instead, I train demigods that have wandered into my domain. Of course, he doesn't know that."

There was a moment of silence then she continued to speak.

"Will, if anyone finds out that you possess the abilities that you do you have to take their memories, even if it is a person that you love. No one can know."

Will nodded sadly, he didn't want to have to take someone's memories just because they knew that he had the ability.

"Don't be so sad. You are special Will. You are the only child of Apollo that I have and will ever teach."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't want to teach another Apollo child, but there is another reason. Apollo can predict the future and I can change and look into the past." She poked Will in the stomach, "you can do both Will. Think about all of the possibilities!"

Nico took hold of Wills left hand gently.

"You there, Will?" He asked.

Will blinked, "Yeah, just thinking."

Nico wanted to ask what about, he felt responsible for some of Wills pain. But he didn't want to ruin the moment so he smiled. He enjoyed walking with Will and holding his hand. Nico was grateful for the empty streets. The sun set behind them and everything thing in that moment was as close to perfect as you could get.


	26. Chapter 26

It must have been an hour since they left Mount Olympus when Percy noticed that Will and Nico had left. Percy and Annabeth whispered profanities to each other. Percy led Annabeth down the streets of New York. He was eager to see his mum, since he hadn't seen her in the best part of a year. Annabeth was up for it too. They kissed as much as they could before they walked through Sally Jackson's apartment.

"Mum! I'm home!" Percy called as if he was just coming home from school.

Sally ran into the hall and flung her arms around Percy. She cried and squeezed her son so tight she could have been mistaken for a boa constrictor. Sally pulled Annabeth into the hug as well. Paul walked through the door. She released the children from her constrictor like hug.

"Percy!" He exclaimed, "Sally, when did they get here?"

"Just now!" She said gleefully.

They went and sat at the kitchen table, Sally gave them blue coloured food. They began to tell Sally and Paul about the quest to the ancient lands.

"You have a tattoo Percy?" His mum interrupted.

"I had to, it's not like I wanted SPQR tattooed on me. It's Hera's fault."

They started up again talking about the Argo 2 and the travel across the Atlantic. They they got to their time in Rome.

"Wait, you went to Tartarus?"

"We fell into Tartarus."

They continued, when they got to Gaia's rise Sally stopped them again.

"So, Percy. You awoke Gaia up with your bloody nose?"

Percy blushed sheepishly, "yes."

Percy excused himself from the table, he needed some air. Being reminded of his time in Tartarus bugged him. He felt a soul crushing sadness as he remembered his Titan friend Bob.

As Percy stood on the balcony a hot wind blew past him. It reminded him of Leo. He was never close with him and he was angry at himself for that. His eyes glanced over to the flower that Calypso had given him.

Percy took a deep breath in an attempt to clear his mind. He leant sideways on the banister and watched the sunset.

Only one thought came into his mind. How was he not Nico's type?


	27. Chapter 27

"KILL! DIE! KILL!"

A phase commonly used by Gleeson Hedge but it was never used in this way before.

Calypso held onto Leo tightly.

"Leo, who is this goat?" She whispered.

Leo studied the Coach. It had been several years since Leo had even thought about his life on the Argo 2 and the prophecy of seven. He had forgotten about all of the Gods besides Nemesis and his dad.

"I...I don't know who this is." Leo muttered.

Rage filled the Coach. He went red with anger and he began to shake. The Coach raised his baseball bat and got ready to swing it.

"You snot nosed little brat! I don't care if the others want to beat the living daylights out of you; I'm going to do it instead." He paused and smiled darkly, "I never thought I'd kill a demigod. Well there's a first for everything."

Suddenly everything came back to Leo in an instant. His repressed memories resurfaced.

"Come on Coach, I think you've scared him enough." A new voice said.

Leo turned and saw a boy with bright yellow hair and a camp T-shirt on. The boy had dark circles under his eyes and his skin was pale. The boy slouched as he walked towards them, he forcefully flicked their foreheads. Leo began to splutter and Calypso broke out in hives.

"Enjoy having the plague." The blonde haired boy laughed.

Leo doubled over and wretched. The blonde haired boy pulled Leo's head up by pulling on his hair.

"Not that there will be a next time, but before you run off with a girl it'd be nice to know that you're not dead."

"I...I don't even know you." Leo said weakly clutching onto his stomach.

Nico dropped the supplies that were in his hands. He froze with fear and with shock.

"Will, what are you doing?" He said slowly as if that would make it stop.

"I'm giving these two the plague what does it look like?"

Nico slowly approached Will as if he was crazed wild animal. He looked at the boy that Will was holding. Leo looked up at Nico with sad eyes.

"You died." Nico gasped, "Hazel and I, we felt you die!"

"Well it looks like I'm going to die now instead."

"Will reverse this! You need to stop this."

"But he just left you, he ran off with that girl. You thought he died." Will clutched his head and grumbled, "he needs to be eradicated."

Nico to glared at Will, he was afraid of the boy in front of him. It was obvious that this was another one of his rampages but there was something different this time. Will had never been this violent before.

"Will," Nico said calmly, "just reverse the effect of the plague and leave them. They did nothing to you. You don't need to kill them."

"_He_ hurt you. You said that you thought he was dead. He didn't even come back! He is the definition of disgusting." Will snarled.

Nico gently touched Will's arms in attempt to bring him back from the depths of his mind, but he didn't win. Will slapped Nico's hand away and glared at him as if he wanted to kill him as well.

Will released Leo and reversed the effects of the plague on the two. He raised his fist at Nico then walked away from the group. Nico took a deep shaky breath. He then turned to the coach.

"Why didn't you stop him? How many times does he need to go on psychotic rages before he is stopped?"

The coach said nothing, he looked over to Leo who was helping Calypso.

"Who was that? Why did he do that to us?" Leo muttered.

"A year ago, Will was captured by a creature known as 'Aka Manah' from Zoroastrianism. It tortured him for six months. He suffers from flashbacks and sometimes he acts them out."

"What can you do?"

Nico shrugged, "There is nothing you can do for someone who won't talk."

Will returned to the group. He said nothing and avoided all eye contact as he mounted the Pegasus.

"This quest is over. Lets go!" He ordered.

"Will, we just left Camp." The Coach said softly.

"Do you think I care? We are leaving _now._"

Nico turned to Leo and Calypso. He didn't know what to feel towards them. Leo shouldn't have caused his friends the pain of thinking that he was dead. But Nico knew the extent of Wills rage and he knew how scary it could be to be so close to death that you just want it. Nico looked into their worry filled eyes.

"Do you want to come with us, back to camp?" Nico muttered.

"Its been too long for us to go back." Leo said.

Nico nodded. He mounted the Pegasus and they left the two to be free of the hardships that being a demigod brought.


	28. Chapter 28

When they got back to Camp, Will was ready to storm off but Nico stopped him. Nico took him to the Hades cabin and sat Will down on his bed. Nico studied the blonde haired boy intensely. He tried to read Will but he had put a wall so high that Nico could only see brick. After a while Nico sat next to Will. Still no words were exchanged, only stares. Almost out of nowhere Will kissed Nico. As the kiss got more intense flashes of Wills memories and feelings flooded through Nico. He pushed Will away and inched away from him.

"I dont want to be haunted by your memories, Will. Stop doing this to me." Nicos voice began to break.

Nico had his own memories and emotions to deal with he didn't need anyone else.

"I keep on reliving the moments, I don't want to remember them anymore."

"Why are you so afraid? Tell me, why do you cower about confronting your memories Will? It's been a year, how much longer can you take in the darkness, Will?" Nico wanted to say more but it struck him that he sounded an awful lot like Cupid.

Will shivered, he used to radiate heat but now that wasn't the case. Will sat back down, close to Nico.

"No matter how hard I try I can't forget my time with Aka Manah." Will took Nicos hand, "When I'm alone, the voices still rage in my head...but when I'm with you they stop." There was a moment of silence then Will muttered, "Nico, I'm sorry."

Will lay down on the bed and motioned for Nico to lay down with him. Nico glared at him. Will closed his eyes and curled up like a cat. In a matter of moments Will fell asleep, only to be greeted with reliving one of his biggest mistakes.


	29. Chapter 29

Six year old Will sprinted home. Why didn't he do his homework? Why did he get into that fight? He was such an idiot. He should have been home two hours ago. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He fell over a crack on the pavement. He scrambled up and sprinted through the pain. He turned the corner. His house was only a few feet away. He ran down the path to his front door and flung it open.

"Mum," He panted, "Mum its okay. I'm home now!"

He began to shake when he didn't hear a reply. The familiar smell of alcohol filled the air. The tears burned his eyes. He turned into the front room. Bottles and cans were now the floor. He found his mum half on the sofa, her head was on the floor. Her eyes were closed and she was limp. Will lifted her up so she was fully on the sofa. Will began to shake her.

"Mum, wake up! This isn't funny." He croaked.

She didn't wake up.

Will went into the dirt filled kitchen and filled a bucket with cold water and ice. He carried it carefully into the front room and poured some onto her. She didn't wake up.

Will began to panic. His mum sometimes woke him up like that and he would get up straight away. His breathing got quicker. What could he do? His mum had told him to never touch the phone and never answer to the door, especially if it was someone asking for 'their money'.

He shook her again.

"Mummy, please wake up." He cried.

He felt a presence behind him. He tuned and saw a man standing with his head bowed.

"Who are you?" Will cried, "How did you get in here?"

The man smiled warmly, "I'm your father, Will."

Wills young confused eyes scanned the man then his mother. Wills hands balled up into fists. He shook with anger.

"Why did you leave?" He yelled, "Mum said you left, and she…"

Will broke into tears. He walked over to his 'father'. He lightly hit his stomach then hugged him. Will cried into his freshly ironed shirt. The man pulled Will away and crouched to his level.

"It was hard for me to leave you with your mum in the state the she was. But Will, I didnt mean to hurt you or your mother. I had to leave. Will, there is a place where there are others like you."

"No, I dont want to go. What if she wakes up?"

"She told you?"

"She says a lot when she drinks."

"Will, do you honestly think that she's going to wake up?"

"SHE COULD! And what if i'm not here? I've got to look after her."

The man sighed, "Fine."

He stood up and clicked his fingers. The cans and bottles disappeared and the fire sprang alive.

"Goodbye, Will." The man whispered.

The man left in silence. Wills hands shook over his mother's body.

"I will fix everything." Will muttered, "I'm going to fix every mistake."


	30. Chapter 30

Will jerked awake. On the bedside table was a glass of water. He sat up. He looked around, Nico wasn't anywhere to be seen. Will felt his heart beat quicken. The door swung open. In the doorway as a shadowy figure. It slithered over to Will and caressed his face.

"Give up, Will." It nibbled on his ear, "You know what's going to happen don't you? Aka Manah is going to come and destroy you and your beloved Nico."

"Shut up!" He snarled, "I wont kill him. I did so much to protect him."

The shadowy figure grinned, "Blood. GIVE US BLOOD! Kill Nico. Slice his throat. Cut open his guts and eat his organs. Gouge out his eyes and eat them."

The figure showed Will images of him killing Nico. He covered his eyes but the images were playing in his mind.

"No! Shut up! Shut up, shut up! Make it stop. I'll kill you."

Will felt something warm touch him. He blinked and the voices disappeared. He was standing, in his hand was a piece of glass, he'd broken the glass of water. Nico was touching him and Piper was in the doorway. Nico let go of Wills arm and took away the piece of glass.

"You okay now, Will?" Piper asked.

Will eyed Piper cautiously, "I'm never okay...but I won't do that for a while if thats what you mean."

"Will...What did it say?" Nico whispered.

Will shook his head violently.

Nico sighed then said, "Piper… what did you want?"

"Did you see Leo the other day?" She asked softly.

"Yeah, we saw Leo. He was with Calypso." Nico said.

"Where is he?"

"He was just a few towns away when we saw him. But who knows where he is now."

Piper smiled, "Okay, Thank you boys."


	31. Chapter 31

Piper ran all over the camp shouting for Jason. She bumped into someone and fell over. She looked up and saw Jason adjusting his glasses. He gave her a hand up and smiled.

"Pipes, what is it?" He laughed.

"Leo." She breathed, "he isn't dead."

Jason's smile fell, "it's been three years...if he was alive he would have come back."

Piper nodded in agreement, "Nico said that he was with Calypso."

"What!" Jason's hands balled into fists, "that little-"

"Jason it's okay, we'll get him back."

Jason nodded and removed his glasses. He ducked inside his cabin and placed them on a counter. He ran back out and wrapped his hands around Pipers waist. Jason commanded the air around him and they flew.

They were only flying for half an hour when they found Leo. They dropped down five meters behind him and they snuck up to him.

"It's really him." Jason said as they got a little bit closer.

"I know."

Leo was sitting at a table outside a café. Piper and Jason sat at a table next to his. Piper picked up a menu and pretended to read it. Jason glared at Leo waiting for him to look at them. When he finally looked up Leo's mouth fell open.

"Hey there, Leo." Jason smirked, "care to explain."

Leo laughed nervously, "Calypso, it's time to go!"

A girl with a long brown plait and a simple pleated white dress came out of the café. She was naturally beautiful. She looked at Leo the way a mum would when she found his room a mess.

"I just ordered the food!" She grumbled.

Leo's eyes shifted nervously between Jason and Calypso.

"I can see why Jackson was hung up over you, Calypso." Jason laughed, "seriously though, Leo what in Hades?"

"You shouldn't care! I was the seventh wheel." Leo turned to Calypso, "we are going."

"Leo, wait!" Jason said, "why didn't you come back?"

"It's not like you cared about me anyway. I was a less valuable pawn, it was always 'Percy and Jason! They're so great!' I wanted to get away from that."

"Leo we all had our part to play. We all mourned-"

"Shut it, Piper!" Leo growled, "Weren't you better of knowing that I was dead. You can go and forget this ever happened, you can continue to be pawns to the gods and I'll continue to be happy."

"Leo I don't understand, why are you saying all of this?" Jason tried to keep his voice from breaking.

Leo laughed, "no one understands."

Leo grabbed calypso and they walked away down the street into a crowd of people. Leo and calypso were never seen again.

Piper let herself cry. Jason hugged her tight. She looked up at him with her sad brown eyes. He kissed her and comforted her. Jason tried to find Leo but he was lost.

"I'm sorry, Piper." He said finally.


	32. Chapter 32

Will looked through Nico's things while Nico lay on his bed. Will pulled out Mythomagic cards from a box. Nico looked to see what the noise was.

"Didn't you burn all of your Mythomagic cards?" Will asked.

"I did, but I got some new ones." He said as if it was nothing, "put them back."

"Why?" Will said admiring a card, "they got Apollo all wrong. Ohh look, you have Hades as well."

Will laughed to himself as he found more cards. Will turned to Nico and he held out two cards. They were Zeus and Apollo.

"Hello," Will said holding out the card of Zeus, "I'm Zeus and I'm a big grumpy butt who can't handle demigods! Because I'm better than everyone else in existence I'm going to send you to Tartarus, Apollo. Hahaha!" Will put on a voice that was almost the same as his dad's, "but Zeus I did nothing wrong. I was just doing my job." He changed his voice again, "I don't care! I'm Zeus and I can do whatever I want! Haha!"

Nico couldn't help but laugh. He found it cute, funny and sad at the same time.

"Did you want to play properly?" Nico asked quietly.

"No this is more fun." Will throw the Poseidon card at Nico, "water powers, go!"

Nico raised an eyebrow but when he saw the look of delight in Will's eyes he caved in and played along. Nico clutched his side and pretended he was sinking underwater.

"Oh no! Someone save me! I'm drowning." He said jokingly.

Will laughed to himself as he found even more cards. He threw another one at Nico. Nico looked at the card.

"Will?"

"Love powers! Go!" Will giggled.

"Oh no, Aphrodite got me! What shall I do?" Nico said sarcastically.

Will side onto the bed next to Nico, their faces were very close.

"Is that a bad thing, Nico?" Will asked seriously, "are you ashamed?"

"Why would I- oh...no I'm not ashamed."

"How come you only kiss me when we are alone then?"

Terror ran through Nico, "Will, no!"

"Doctors orders, Nico."

"You can't do this to me."

"I can and I will!"

"You're sounding a lot like Zeus right now."

Will grabbed Nico's hand and pulled him outside. To Will's surprise Nico didn't become a dead weight. Once they were outside Will took them to a semi crowded area. The sun was low in the sky and there was a small spring like wind. Will admired Nico in the sunlight for a moment. He then placed his hands on Nico's rough skin. He leant in closer and they kissed. It was unlike any of their other kisses. There was a spark between them. They heard a few gasps around then and a few whistles. Will pulled away from Nico and grinned widely. Will put his head next to Nico's ear.

He whispered, "Nico...I love you."

Nico smiled and whispered back, "I love you too." He paused then said, "I'm still mad at you."

"I know."


	33. Chapter 33

Will woke up in the Hades cabin. It was about five in the morning. At first he thought it was weird but then he remembered that Hazel was in New Rome and his siblings wanted nothing to do with him. He felt Nico's hands around torso. He slid out of the bed and put on some clothes.

Will headed down to the archery field. He wasn't the best one out of his siblings at archery but he was pretty good. He picked up an arrow and was just about to shoot it when he felt the temperature drop drastically. He felt something hovering behind him. He knew what it was. He felt his larynx go dry. He dropped the bow but held the stance, he was unable to move.

"Its a shame, Solace. You looked better when you were dying." An ugly distorted voice cooed.

Will coughed then snarled, "Why are you here?"

"There is no escaping it has been set, Everyone must pay their debt." Aka Manah laughed, "I'm collecting my money."

"Whats your price?"

"I'd say its more of an exchange," It laughed, "Nicos life for the removal of the voices."

"No."

Aka Manah laughed, "I thought you would say that. You'll wish you hadn't."

Aka Manah clicked its fingers and Wils hands bent backwards in an unnatural way. Will cried out in pain. He then began to levitate in the air. Black flames began to swirl from the end Aka Manahs index finger.

"Oh, Will. One small touch and you'll be completely mine!"

The creature twirled around Will, inspecting him.

"You're cleaver Will. You figured out that the 'H' was only the start of a word. I'm going to finish the word now."

Aka Manah took Wills sight and branded him. It was quick and only took a few seconds. Will glanced at the word and his hand. He knew it. 'Homosexual' had been branded onto his hand. He looked at forearm. 'Heartless' had been branded onto him. On his shoulder was 'Property of Aka Manah.'

"Any second now." It laughed.

"WILL!" Nicos voice cried.

"No, stay away."

"TOO LATE!" It growled.

Will felt a touch on the back of his neck. His sight returned. He had become a puppet. Will saw strings hanging above his limbs. He'd seen them before but the strings were thin. These strings were thicker and a lot like rope. Will lost all control of his body. He was Aka Manahs. He belonged to it. He was a puppet. A worthless pathetic puppet.

Will grabbed Nico by his throat and pushed him down onto the ground. His hands only got tighter the more he fought against Aka Manah. For a moment Will felt a need to kill Nico. He wanted to kill Nico.

"You know you want to kill Nico! You want to feel the life leave his body. YOU NEED TO KILL HIM! KILL HIM! Kill that wretched boy. KILLLLLLLL HIM!"

Nico was close to death. Will grabbed an arrow and held it above Nicos chest. He was torn. Did he enjoy this or was it Aka Manah?

"Nico, please forgiv-"

Wills arm began to bleed heavily. He turned to Aka Manah. It had torn a large hole in the puppet. It pulled Will away from Nico. It handed Will a dagger then it thrusted Will back over to Nico. Will raised the dagger to Nicos throat.

Will felt the presence of something warm. He smiled slyly.

Apollo shot an arrow through Aka Manahs hand, the one holding the puppet. It dropped the puppet and snarled.

"Fine. You've won for now." It slithered close to Apollo, "Just so you know, Will is mine forever."

"Not if we stop you."

"You cannot stop pure evil, Apollo." He paused and strode proudly around them, "The voices and flashbacks will only get worse. If you aren't dead by the end of the year, I'll be surprised."

"Whatever you are, fix my son!" Apollo growled.

The word 'fix' sent sills up Wills spine. He was broken? Will got up and rammed the dagger into its stomach.

"Aka Manah, FIX ME!" Will demanded snarling like a dog.

"Fine. You have six months. If Nico isn't dead by then, then I will make you kill him!"

It touched Will then left leaving a cloud of black smoke behind it.

Apollo tended to Nico then stitched up Wills cut.

"Dad...what do I do?" Will muttered.

"I don't know. Nothing like this has happened before."

Will sighed, "Is Nico okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. I managed to undo most of the damage. He'll only had minor bruises now."

"Thank you."

Apollo smiled, "Don't lose hope Will, thats what it wants. We'll find a way to defeat it."

"Please be right."


	34. Chapter 34

Hades waited patiently. He looked at the sky then the clock inside the coffee shop. Finally Apollo arrived in his flash car. He hopped out with his ukulele. Apollo looked ridiculous compared to Hades, he was wearing a bright yellow short sleeved shirt with black shorts. Hades was wearing his usual suit and tie.

"What took you so long?" Hades snapped.

"I was busy." Apollo smiled, "I'll buy the drinks if you'll stop being so grumpy."

"I'm not grumpy!"

"Then tell your face that, Hades."

Apollo played a tune on the ukulele as they went inside the coffee shop.

Hades sat down at a table for two that was tucked away in the corner. Apollo came with the drinks. He lay back in his chair and played a song.

"So, what's this about?" Apollo said playfully.

"Your son, Will." Hades scowled.

Apollo snapped to attention, he placed the ukulele down and sat up straight.

"What about him?" He coughed.

"Its been two months since Aka Manha threatened him. Do you have a plan on how to defeat him?"

"I don't have a plan as such yet but it'll turn out okay."

Hades scowled, "I don't care if you're the god of prophecy. Come up with a plan."

Apollo raised his hands, "Okay, okay. I'll ask Jason what he's found out and I'll do some research of my own. Once we find its weakness then we can destroy it! Why haven't you come up with a plan?"

"All of this is your fault."

Apollo shrugged, "Fair point."

The two gods sat in silence and drank their drinks. Apollo drummed his fingers nervously on the table. He didn't like the future that he was seeing.

* * *

><p>Aka Manah sat on his throne playing with his puppet of Will.<p>

"Alecto! Come here!" It ordered.

The fury walked into his throne room and bowed. She was in her human form so her branding was visible.

"Where have you been today?"

"Posing as Mrs. Dodds...like you ordered me to."

"Good. Spot anything?"

"I sensed a possible zoroastrian demi-gods."

Aka Manah grinned then laughed.

"Apollo, I can feel you watching. Be gone!"

* * *

><p>Apollo raised his head, dread and panic filled him.<p>

"Alecto is helping Aka Manah!" He shouted.

Hades cursed, "We are taking this god down!"

Apollo smiled and held out his hand for a high five. Hades slowly raised his hand and they smacked them together.

"We can go this!" Apollo beamed, "For the sake of all demigods!"

"And our sons." Hades muttered.

"YEAH! Most importantly our sons! LETS GO!"

Hades shook his head as Apollo jumped with joy. He realized in that moment, he would gladly work with a lunatic like Apollo if it meant the safety of his son.

* * *

><p><strong>Author note:<strong>

To the people who had read this story and have been confused by the ending, I would like to clear something's up.

This is probably a fault on my part, but this is a trilogy this is the reason I left it the way I did. But, I'm not the best writer in the world... so I apologise.

Ren: I didn't say this in the story, but Will cannot change his own memories. He needs someone else to take them or change them, he has to learn how to deal with the past by confronting his memories.

Again, I apologise for my lack of explanation and general bad writing. I tried to make this a clever thing by adding something different, I'm sorry for the confusion. The other stories that come after this will be better (I hope) and help make sense of this one.

I hope this has cleared every thing up. Thank you for your time, and thank you for reading. I put a lot of effort into this, I never expected so many people to read it (even if you are confused, which I totally get cause I'm a pretty bad writer)

Anyway, thank you

Until next time.


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